How Heavy is a Hangar Door?

By AZ1 Shannon Van Dorn

Summer thunderstorms are very common in Florida. However, the intensity of these storms can surprise anyone who is not prepared for them. Night check had been hectic during our drill weekend, and it would get worse before this night was over.

We had had several launches and recoveries with minimal coverage, and we were in thunderstorm condition II. The weather quickly turned worse with thunder, lightning, pouring rain, and hail. Lightning was reported within 5 miles of our hangar. I was behind the counter in Maintenance Control, while my crew completed maintenance. I decided to close the hangar doors to keep the hangar deck from getting soaked and becoming a hazard. The hangar door only could be closed by walking next to it, while simultaneously pressing the button on the outside of the door. This button is located at the moving end of the door. As I walked with the door to close it, I got soaked from the rain. Because the lightning seemed to be extremely dangerous, I decided to walk inside.

With my arm reaching outside the door, I continually pushed the close button. I thought the movement would be slow enough so I could walk backward, while straddling the track. Before the door closed fully, though, my foot slipped on the wet cement and lodged in the door track. Thankfully, I was wearing steel-toed boots. The door went over the steel toe and continued to close. Immediately, I released the button, but movement continued several more inches. I put the door in reverse to remove my foot.

I broke the fourth metatarsal bone and had significant bruising on top of my foot and around my ankle. I had to use crutches for the next six weeks.

Three lessons came from this incident. I should have closed the hangar doors as soon as we got word of an approaching thunderstorm. I should have walked on the correct side of the door to avoid increased risks—a detail which I did consider. When the lightning became severe, I should have aborted the attempt to close the doors and just let the hangar deck get wet.

Petty Officer Van Dorn works in Maintenance Control at VR-58.